The National Party was formed in May 1936 through a fusion of two major conservative parties, Reform and United. The Reform Party had been a rural party, backed by farmers and business and governed from 1912 to 1928. The United Party was a remnant of the Liberal Party and were dominated by city-based concerns and held office from 1891 to 1912. By 1928, however, the United Party had been a minority group after two changes of names and policy platforms. During the 1931 Depression, the United broke away ranks from Labour Party and began to support the Reform. In 1922 and 1925, the idea of merging two parties had been discussed but rejected in both years. Gordon Coates (PM from 1925 to 1928) opposed and criticized the formal mergence of the two parties in 1925 United leader George Forbes (PM from 1931 to 1935) was leader initially led the coalition government, but he was replaced by former Reform and coalition minister Adam Hamilton who led the newly formed National Party. The Labour Party took office for 13 years since the rise of the Labour Party in 1936, and during that time National remained the party of opposition. However, from the late 1930's the National was steadily gaining support nationwide. National’s vote in 1938 was 40.3% but it rose to 42.8% in 1943 and 48.4% in 1946. In 1949 it took office with a vote of 51.9% (a majority of 12 seats). National won the majority of 54.0% of the vote in the 1951 snap elections. This gave it 50 seats and a majority of 20 – its highest vote. The result of the snap elections showed the contrasts between the strong leadership of Holland and declining support for the Labour Party and the Labour leader Walter Nash.
"The best insurance against Communist dominance of your union, as part of the cold war, is to re-elect the National Government." This poster encourages the voters to vote for the National Government in the 1951 General Elections. The National Party's policies was that they would confront the militant unionism head-on and to ease war-time restrictions. With Sidney Holland as their leader, the National Party was elected to Government in the 1951 General Elections. The FoL by now, had "ganged up" with the National Party is a struggle against the militant unionism. Reference:Te Ara.
Sidney George Holland, and the National Party
Sidney George Holland was born at Greendale, Canterbury on 18 October 1893. Holland was New Zealand's 25th Prime Minster from 13 December 1949 to 20 September 1957. He stood for the Reform Party from 1935 to 1938 and then, as the member of the National Party from 1938 to his resignation from leadership due to declining health in 1957. His electorate was Christchurch North until 1946, and afterwards, he stood for Fendalton until his resignation from leadership. He came from a politically prominent family; his father Henry Holland had been Mayor of Christchurch from 1912 to 1919. Sidney was elected into Parliament when replaced his father in election for his seat due to his ill health. In 1940, he replaced the Adam Hamilton, who was seen as an ineffectual leader of the National Party. During the War, he served as Deputy Chairman of the War Cabinet from 30 June 1942 to 2 October 1942. He was the Leader of the Opposition for 10 years, until the National Party won the 1949 general elections. In campaigning for 1949 General Elections, he promised to ease up the economic restrictions which the Labour Government had imposed during the war, to abolish the compulsary unionism, and to confront the militant unionists head-on. He had later reversed his policy to abolish compulsary unionism, after being persuaded by F. P. Walsh that the National would gain control of the unions if he hadn't abolished it. He strongly believed that with the National Party as the government, people could benefit from economic prosperity and better social welfare.He promised that there would also be more individual freedom and a minimum of bureaucratic intervention and restriction. He argued that "the basis of New Zealand's material future was a little word with big meaning - work." (Te Ara) During his early political career, he was involved in a wide range of organisations, such as serving as president of the Canterbury Employers’ Association, the Canterbury Chamber of Commerce and the Christchurch. Businessmen’s Club. Briefly, he was associated with the New Zealand Legion, which opposed not only the socialist New Zealand Labour Party. He had also helped in establishment of the National Party in 193 He critised the Labour Party's preparations to the Second World War inefficient and as an economic waste, and its beureocratic regulations and the state's repressive censorship. He saw all this as "extending and consolidating state control." Holland was renown for his stand against the communism and a struggle against the actions of communist, militant unions during the 1951 Waterfront Dispute. During his term as Prime Minister, he gained support from superpower countries, Australia and United States through the signing of ANZUS Pact. ANZUS Pact had allowed the US military support to New Zealand and Australia as a means of protection during the Cold War. Ill health forced his resignation from office, and from 1957, Keith Holyoake took over the leadership of the National Party. During his role as the leader of the National Party and a Prime Minister, Holland earned a reputation as a tough, even autocratic leader. He was capable of "delegating power to his ministers, and beneath his gruff public persona was a man of considerable personal warmth and humour."